EC: If the Recommendations are Followed, the Monitoring of Bulgaria and Romania will be Dropped Soon

There is still a possibility, even before the end of the mandate of this European Commission, that the monitoring mechanism of Bulgaria and Romania be terminated. This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, at a press conference on the rule of law.

In his words, the commission's recommendations for Bulgaria and Romania should be implemented. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to achieve this, he added.

"There is still a lot of work in Bulgaria, but much has been achieved in the field of rule of law." The monitoring mechanism was set up to solve problems that had to be resolved before the EU countries were admitted. Bulgaria and Romania were admitted to the EU in 2007, and we are already 2019, and we have not yet solved all the problems that had to be resolved before accession, "Timmermans said.

We need to take this lesson into account when we start future accession talks - issues of the rule of law, the division of powers. These questions must be resolved beforehand. I was a great defender of the admission of Bulgaria and Romania, this should be clear. The expectation that the mechanism quickly resolves issues that had yet to be resolved was too optimistic, he said.

In Romania, on the basis of the Mechanism, huge progress has been made in the fight against corruption even at high levels of government. The Romanian judiciary has increased its efficiency over the years, there were people behind the bars. There is now a retreat. We must make sure that it does not become legally binding and create conditions for impunity, "Timmermans added.